Sebi gives MPS a month to refund

Mumbai, Dec. 7 (PTI): Sebi has directed MPS Greenery Developers to close its collective investment schemes and refund investors within one month, failing which proceedings would be initiated against the entity and its senior officials.

“...hereby direct MPS Greenery Developers Ltd to wind up its scheme(s) identified as Collective Investment Schemes and refund the money collected by it under the scheme(s) with returns which are due to the investors as per the terms of the offer within a period of one month from the date of this order,” Sebi said in its December 6 order.

Sebi said if MPS failed to comply with its directions, prosecution proceedings against the company and its promoters/directors/managers/ persons in charge of the business would be initiated.

These persons include Pramatha Nath Manna, Santanu Chowdhury, Arup Kumar Roy Gupta, Subrata Basu, Prabir Kumar Chanda, Madhusudhan Adhikari and Sukumar Ghosal. They would also be restrained from accessing the capital market till all the money is refunded.

In addition, reference would be made to police to register a case against MPS and its officals and a reference would be made to the corporate affairs ministry to initiate the process of winding up of the company’s business.

In May this year, Sebi had barred MPS from raising any money from investors till it deposited a sum of Rs 1,169.39 crore in an escrow account with a nationalised bank.

The firm was also barred from disposing of any properties and other assets it might have acquired using funds raised through these collective investment schemes.